DETROIT | Development & Construction: Motown Lowdown

[deja vu]

Man, so much positive news in those last three posts. A good way to end the day.

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/in..._building.html

I like parks as much as the next guy, and I love these riverfront projects. But I can't help but think of all the parks in the city that already can't be maintained adequately.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by subterranean

I like parks as much as the next guy, and I love these riverfront projects. But I can't help but think of all the parks in the city that already can't be maintained adequately.

http://detroitmi.gov/40neighborhoodparks

http://detroitmi.gov/News/ArticleID/...ork-on-30-More

[LMich]

The former Compuware Headquarters, One Campus Martius, which was built to be expanded...is finally getting filled in in the back:

Gilbert confirms plans for large addition to One Campus Martius

By Kirk Pinho | Crain's Detroit Building

May 4, 2017

Dan Gilbert confirmed that he plans to build an addition to the One Campus Martius building downtown where his Quicken Loans Inc. makes its headquarters.

In an interview Wednesday afternoon with Crain's, Gilbert did not elaborate on size or timeline for construction, but when asked about the potential for an addition to the 1 million-square-foot building he and Detroit-based Meridian Health purchased for $142 million in 2014, he said, "I'd say you're on the right path on that."

...

The building at 1050 Woodward Ave., formerly the Compuware Corp. headquarters, has 15 stories of office and retail space, but there is a northern section that is just three stories tall that could accommodate an addition.

...

Here's the nitch left in the back for expansion:


Detroit by Tom Hughes, on Flickr

Study on QLine:

QLINE gets credit for $7B Detroit transformation

Eric D. Lawrence | Detroit Free Press

May 5, 2017

The value of the economic development, both planned and finished, along the QLINE's path is estimated at more than $7 billion, according to a report released Thursday by M-1 Rail, the organization building Detroit's streetcar system.

The eye-popping number takes into account development since 2013. The 3.3-mile QLINE on Woodward Avenue is to open to the public May 12, connecting the city's downtown, Midtown, New Center and North End areas.

The 24-page report says about two-thirds of the investments in 211 projects, including the $1.2-billion District Detroit that incorporates Little Caesars Arena, have been completed — with $2.4 billion planned for the future. The numbers are more than double the $3-billion figure boosters have previously pitched to highlight the potential impact of the QLINE.

The report notes that large sections of the area were blighted and abandoned until recently, and it gives the QLINE substantial credit.

“What the QLINE has done is take the entire length of Woodward from the (Detroit River) to Grand Boulevard and provide an attractive reason to develop and redevelop,” Eric Larson, president of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, said in the report. “So a lot more of the infill opportunities that were not quite ready are now sitting in a very good position.”

Critics, however, have noted that a not insubstantial portion of that blight and abandonment was a result of property purchased and allowed to sit until the time was ripe for redevelopment.

[EuphoricOctopus]

Originally Posted by The North One

It's a really patronizing and disingenuous article, nobody is relying on a streetcar to eliminate poverty, racism and class division. Its purpose is real estate, that's about it. You'd think Toronto journalists would know better, considering they only live 4 hours away.

Toronto doesn't know what to write about now that Detroit development and revitalization is kicked in high gear. They are really grasping at straws for some patronizing negativity about Detroit, now-a-days. It's sad and pathetic; even Chicago backed off on the negative stuff recently.

[Docta_Love]

Ford Land's $60 million Wagner Place redevelopment breaks ground in Dearborn
600 Ford Motor Co. workers expected to move in next year

May 03, 2017
By KIRK PINHO
Crain's Detroit Business



A $60 million project to transform a historic hotel and other largely vacant buildings in west downtown Dearborn kicked off Wednesday morning with a groundbreaking ceremony.

The Wagner Place development, lead by Ford Land Development Corp., the real estate arm for Ford Motor Co., is expected to result in about 600 of the automaker's data insights and analytics employees moving there in the middle of next year through relocation and consolidation.

In December, the city secured a $3 million performance-based grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund to construct a 373-space parking deck on what is a surface parking lot at West Village Drive and Monroe.

The project is expected to bring a pair of three-story mixed-use buildings to downtown and restore the Wagner Hotel into retail and office space. One-third of the 150,000-square-foot development is expected to be retail space.



"Developing an urban office environment positions Ford to offer a work setting that will appeal to a new generation of employees," Dave Dubensky, chairman and CEO of Ford Land, said in a statement. "Wagner Place supports our goals to create a more collaborative and inviting campus atmosphere for all employees."

The project area is between Mason Street to the west, Oakwood Boulevard to the east and south of Michigan Avenue. Some of the structures in the area are slated for demolition as part of the project, according to a December MSF memo.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...eaks-ground-in

[animatedmartian]

Elton Park project construction to begin this week in Corktown
By KIRK PINHO. Crain's Detroit. May 7, 2017.



Anthony Soave's sweeping mixed-use development in Corktown begins construction Monday.

A ceremony will be held to break ground on the $150 million Elton Park project that's planned to bring 420 apartments and 30,000 square feet of retail space to a 4.5-acre swath of the neighborhood west of downtown. The name comes from a park that was demolished in the late 1950s to make way for the John C. Lodge Freeway.

The $45 million first phase of the project, announced last year, includes 151 apartments totaling 124,000 square feet, averaging 821 square feet, and just over 13,000 square feet of retail. That phase is expected to be complete by late summer 2018, according to the developer.

The project has received $6.9 million from the Michigan Community Revitalization Program and construction financing from Comerica Bank and Huntington Bank.

Contractors on the project are Eastpointe-based Monahan Construction, which is construction manager; the architecture firms of Detroit-based Hamilton Anderson Associates and Quinn Evans Architects, which has offices in Detroit and Ann Arbor; and Detroit-based The Roxbury Group, which is providing development services.

...

• Checker Cab Building (redevelopment): Two floors of one- and two-bedroom lofts
  
  
• The Robertson (new construction): Four stories, 45 one- and two-bedroom apartments, retail.
  
  
• The Crawford (new construction): Five stories, 40 one- and two-bedroom apartments, retail.
  
  
• 2100 Trumbull (new construction): Five live/work spaces, retail.
  
  
• 2120 Trumbull (new construction): Five live/work spaces, retail.
  
  
• 8th Street Row (new construction): 4 three-story attached rowhouses with 1,744 square feet each.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ek-in-corktown

[animatedmartian]

DuCharme Place in Lafayette Park is now open to residents. If I'm interpreting their website correctly, of the 185 units total only about 10 units are left available as of today.







https://detroit.curbed.com/2017/5/8/...lafayette-park

https://www.facebook.com/ducharmeplace/

[animatedmartian]

Large downtown Royal Oak office building set to begin construction
By KIRK PINHO. Crain's Detroit. May 08, 2017.



Construction is about to begin on a 74,000-square-foot office building in downtown Royal Oak now that it has been pre-leased for about 85 percent of its space by three major tenants, including the developer.

The building at 150 W. Second St. at 11 Mile Road will house the offices of Auburn Hills-based research firm Gongos Inc.; Southfield-based developer Etkin LLC, which is developing the building and moving its headquarters there; and Stout Risius Ross, which currently has space in the Southfield Town Center.

Stout Risius will take the fourth floor plus have expansion space on the third floor; Gongos will occupy the third floor; and Etkin will move into the second floor, the balance of which will be occupied by what was only described as "a prominent Oakland County law firm."

Total project cost is about $20 million, said Josh Suardini, vice president of Etkin.

It's expected to open by spring 2018. A groundbreaking event is planned for 10:30 a.m. May 16.

The building's first floor is for ground-level parking with 54 spaces, which will be available for public parking evenings and weekends.

Douglas Etkin, principal of Etkin LLC, said the project "will increase the city's daytime population by approximately 350 persons."

Southfield-based Faudie Architecture was the architect on the project, while Troy-based The Alan Group is the general contractor. Civil and site engineering was done by Troy-based Professional Engineering Associates.

.....

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...n-construction

[Docta_Love]

Originally Posted by animatedmartian

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ek-in-corktown

Very cool glad its going to be shovel in ground official, i'm excited to see the checkerd cab building and a section of plum st getting some streetscape improvements that little corner of Corktown looks like it could become kinda funky cool little village area if they can promote its plum st credentials in the way things move forward.

Also found a new rendering on Curbed Detroit's article about Highland Park's recently announced revitalization plan, i believe its from the early stage 0-2 year plan.



https://detroit.curbed.com/2017/5/2/...strategic-plan

[The North One]

More photos of Elton Park here:

http://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/...very-different

[animatedmartian]

No rendering as of yet, but a hotel with that number of rooms is usually around several stories tall. It'd be a decent filler along Woodward.

New 120-room hotel, apartment development planned for Midtown
By KIRK PINHO. Crain's Detroit. May 9, 2017.

A Farmington Hills-based development company is planning a new mixed-use project in Midtown that would bring the neighborhood north of downtown a new 120-room hotel and at least 65 new apartments.

Planned for about three acres of developable property at Woodward Avenue and Alexandrine Street that also houses the 300-unit Bicentennial Tower apartment building, the development would also include at least 20,000 square feet of retail space and a parking deck on top of which the apartments would sit, Group 10 Management Co. President Kenny Koza said Tuesday.

The project would be built on the Woodward frontage of the Bicentennial and some of its surface parking lot. Residents of both the Bicentennial and the new apartments would have parking spaces in the deck, as would hotel guests and retail patrons, Koza said.

He cautioned that some aspects of the project are still being "fine-tuned" and that the soonest construction would begin is late next year, pushing completion into 2020.

"We are kind of feeling the heartbeat of the area, but things are progressing," he said.

Koza declined to discuss development costs.
...

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ed-for-midtown

[LMich]

Not just that number of rooms, but from the description, since it's being built mostly along the Woodward frontage of the property and incldues 65 additional apartments, it's going to be quite prominent.

Here is Bicentennial Towers:


Midtown, Detroit, Michigan by hudkina, on Flickr

It's going to be built in front of it from the sound of it. This is immediately north of the redeveloped/ing "Hammer" building, which will include 72 apartments and retail.


Michelle & Chris Gerard


Roxbury Group

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by LMich

Not just that number of rooms, but from the description, since it's being built mostly along the Woodward frontage of the property and incldues 65 additional apartments, it's going to be quite prominent.

The way it was worded made me think the hotel tower with retail on the bottom would front Woodward and the parking deck would be behind it with the apartments on top. Of course, it sounds pretty early in development so it's likely to changed between now and later.

[The North One]

New luxury hotel in Birmingham: http://www.freep.com/story/news/loca...ham/318070001/

[animatedmartian]

Big Rock Chophouse owners to operate new DTE park restaurant
By ANNALISE FRANK. Crain's Detroit. May 11, 2017.











The minds behind Big Rock Chophouse and Griffin Claw Brewing Co. in Birmingham will operate the spacious anchor venue at DTE Energy Co.'s new downtown Detroit park, the Detroit-based utility announced Thursday.

Norm and Bonnie LePage will operate an outdoors-focused eatery out of the 1.5-acre public park. The park, which was first announced in 2015 and is under construction, will open in July, DTE told Crain's.

The LePages have operated restaurants in metro Detroit for more than 40 years, but the DTE park's dining anchor — slated to open in the fall — is their first venture into the city itself, Norm LePage said.

DTE lead a national search for a restaurant operator and chose the LePages for their long history serving "top-quality" food, said Nancy Moody, DTE's vice president of public affairs.

"We were hopeful that we would find someone who had really great Detroit roots," Moody said. "But that person also had to have the characteristics that Norm and Bonnie bring ... proven quality, and one thing we like to tell Norm is, 'We just plan like you guys.'"

The LePages will manage all food service for the park, including for public events, Norm LePage said.

DTE sought a vendor that would bring affordable food and bridge the gap between trendy restaurant and public park space, Moody said. The yet-to-be-named, brasserie-style eatery will have a family-friendly feel, LePage said, as well as a long line of Belgian and craft beer options.

.....

The restaurant's indoor dining area's glass walls will be able to slide into the corners of the restaurant in good weather, opening up the space and joining it with the outdoor patio. An outdoor staircase will lead to rooftop garden dining with a view of the skyline.

Boston-based Touloukian Touloukian Inc. is leading construction of the green rooftop space, Victor Saroki of Birmingham-based Saroki Architecture will design the interior and patio, and Birmingham-based Kelly Building Co. will handle build-out. Sterling Heights-based Roncelli Inc. and Detroit-based Tooles Contracting Group are general contractors for both the park and the restaurant and LivingLab LLC based in Midtown is the landscape architect and project lead.

The 4,000-square-foot restaurant will seat 85 inside and another 125-150 on the 750-square-foot roof deck and outdoor patio bar.

.....

The DTE park space, bounded by Grand River Avenue, Plaza Drive and First Street, is adjacent to the utility's headquarters. Its official name hasn't been announced.

"The park's theme is light, energy and motion, so it could very well be along those lines," Moody said. "We are also looking at the historic aspects of the neighborhood."

The park itself will be about 56,000 square feet, including the restaurant and public green space. The Downtown Detroit Partnership, which manages Campus Martius, will operate the park.

....

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ark-restaurant

[LMich]

Quicken Loans is going to be using the median in Woodward south of Campus Martius for the public, I guess sort of like the city did with Cadillac Square.

New Detroit gathering space to open with food trucks during QLine launch

By Dana Afana | MLive.com

May 12, 2017

A new public space in Downtown Detroit will open with food trucks and live entertainment Friday on Woodward Avenue, just south of Campus Martius Park. The opening will coincide with the launch of M-1 RAIL's QLine streetcar system. Detroit-based Quicken Loans is spending $400,000 on developing the esplanade on Woodward Avenue medians near Larned Street.

It will feature art installations, pedestrian walkways, food truck space, seating and live entertainment, Quicken announced.

A northbound turnaround on Woodward Avenue near Campus Martius Park will close completely to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment. Along the pedestrian walkway, the space will feature 12-foot-tall arches, which will create a platform for artists to participate in rotating installations, according to Quicken.

"Artistic furniture" elements will include swings, flexible seating, movable cubes and custom wooden benches, Quicken announced.

Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com


Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com

[The North One]

Trees! Yay!

Now they just need to build some mid-rises around that DTE park and the area will be well on it's way.

[mousquet]

Not only the trees, this humble too short streetcar downtown is looking 1st class. It would end up overcrowded in a couple of weeks in my country... I can tell.

Looking forward for expansion! You got to be serious and go beyond the will of local billioaires there, huh.

[animatedmartian]

Foundation Hotel offers taste of Detroit art, fashion and history
By TYLER CLIFFORD. Crain's Detroit. May 13, 2017.











Foundation Hotel, which will officially open its original, historic red doors for business in downtown Detroit on Monday, looks less of a traditional hotel and more like a compilation of Detroit art, innovation and history.

The 100-room boutique hotel was built in the former Detroit Fire Department headquarters at the corner of Washington Boulevard and Larned Street across from Cobo Center. The developers, Aparium Group of Chicago and 21 Century Holdings LLC of Southfield, invested $34 million to restore and modernize the historic character of the building. With a new restaurant and creative amenities, General Manager Bob Lambert said he wants the hotel to become a "neighborhood hangout."

"I'm excited because we're going to become a part of the community. What's happening in Detroit is amazing and everybody knows and sees where the city is going," said Lambert, who previously served as general manager of the Mariott St. Louis Airport. "But what we've done, the type of product that we've built, really collaborates so well with all the local business owners. So not only are we going to appeal to the transients but also the locals. We want to be a local hot spot and have that sense of community."

The property includes the former Pontchartrain Wine Cellars building, which is connected to the old firehouse and was purchased in 2013 for $1.25 million. Exposed brick inside the hotel show the separation between the firehouse, built in 1929, and the cellar, built in 1886.

....

The Foundation Hotel is joining a growing hospitality industry in downtown Detroit, which has approximately 5,000 hotel rooms, Crain's reported in September. There are about five more projects that could bring about 1,000 more rooms to the downtown area, including the Shinola Hotel, The Element Detroit and a hotel in The District Detroit.

http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...on-and-history

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